1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an adjustable railing support post system for conveyors and to a method of operation thereof More particularly, this invention relates to a railing support post system where there are plurality of support posts supporting a railing and the support posts can be sequentially adjusted by a controller to adjust the position of the railing relative to the conveyor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Previously, support posts that support a railing of a conveyor have been adjusted manually. One such apparatus involving manual adjustment is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,218. Manually adjustable systems suffer from a disadvantage in that the systems require a great deal of time to complete an adjustment and the adjustments are sometimes inaccurate. Also, when the system has to be completely re-adjusted because of a new bottle, or other product, that is to be conveyed, the system must be shut down for a long period of time relative to the system of the present invention.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an adjustable railing support post system for conveyors where the support posts are automatically adjustable by activating a controller. Preferably, the controller has a memory and the support posts can be returned to a previous position at the push of a button. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an adjustable railing support post system and method of adjustment thereof where the system has low power requirements and the support posts are adjusted sequentially.
An adjustable railing support post system for conveyors has a conveyor and a railing for the conveyor. The conveyor is used to transport several types of containers of various sizes and shapes. The railing is supported by a plurality of support posts and the support posts are supported by a plurality of actuators. There is one actuator for each support post. Each actuator is connected to a controller and the controller is operable and connected to sequentially adjust the support posts relative to the conveyor until all of the support posts have then been adjusted as required to transport containers of one particular size and shape.
A method of adjusting a railing support post system for a conveyor is used with a conveyor having at least one railing supported by a plurality of support posts. Support posts are supported by-a plurality of actuators, there being one actuator for each support post. Each actuator is connected to a controller. The method comprises operating the controller to sequentially adjust the location of each support post, thereby adjusting the location of the railing.